Jane Harman resigned from Congress February 28, 2011 to join the Woodrow Wilson Center as its first female Director, President and CEO.

Representing the aerospace center of California during nine terms in Congress, she served on all the major security committees: six years on Armed Services, eight years on Intelligence, and eight on Homeland Security. During her long public career, Harman has been recognized as a national expert at the nexus of security and public policy issues, and has received numerous awards for distinguished service.

She is a member of the Defense Policy Board, the State Department Foreign Policy Board, and the Homeland Security Advisory Committee. She also serves on the Executive Committee of the Trilateral Commission and the Advisory Board of the Munich Security Conference.

Harman is a Trustee of the Aspen Institute and the University of Southern California. She is also a member of the Presidential Debates Commission.

A product of Los Angeles public schools, Harman is a magna cum laude graduate of Smith College, where she was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, and Harvard Law School. Prior to serving in Congress, she was Staff Director of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Constitutional Rights, Deputy Cabinet Secretary to President Jimmy Carter, Special Counsel to the Department of Defense, and in private law practice.

What are the consequences of the latest round of U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks? Will politics in Washington, Tehran, Jerusalem, and other players in the region make a comprehensive agreement possible? Join us BY PHONE as three prominent foreign policy analysts of Iran, Israel, and U.S. policy discuss the negotiations, the region, and the future of U.S.-Iranian relations. more

"It may be that Congress votes down whatever authorization makes it to the floor; it may be that members pass a measure that’s too narrow, or too broad, or too incoherent... But if we wage a duck-and-run operation, executed by half measures, our nation and our Constitution lose," writes Jane Harman. more

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Center for Law and Security (CLS) at New York University School of Law announced today the launch of the Comparative Intelligence Oversight Project, a joint effort studying the full range of approaches to intelligence oversight in Western democracies. more

Tune in to our live stream today at 6:00 p.m. CST for a discussion on Ukraine and the changing security landscape in Europe. Tonight’s program is a partnership between The Chicago Council, The Wilson Center and the Organization for Security and Co-Operation in Europe. more

Pages

"Online, we move too slowly and know too little to combat this generation of Web-native jihadists. We’ve failed to mobilize tech and messaging talent to counter the Islamic State on social media," writes Jane Harman.

President Obama is holding a news conference today to highlight his support for the deal to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief. Here & Now‘s Jeremy Hobson speaks with Jane Harman, a former member of Congress, about the deal and the criticism the president has received over the agreement announced yesterday.

In his new book, Is the American Century Over?, world renowned foreign policy analyst, Joseph Nye, tackles that big question and concludes that theories of U.S. decline may be premature. He argues that while America’s super power status is being challenged by the “rise of the rest” and other realities, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we are entering a post-American world. And Wilson Center President , Jane Harman proposes that it might be more accurate to think of America as the “indispensable partner” instead of as the “indispensable nation.” Their discussion provides the focus for this edition of REWIND.

"Today, lawmakers worldwide are sleepwalking through a privacy and security crisis. How many secure sites have to be compromised before we wake up to the full challenges posed by commercial and law enforcement UAVs – or, in common parlance, by drones?" writes Jane Harman.

"It may be that Congress votes down whatever authorization makes it to the floor; it may be that members pass a measure that’s too narrow, or too broad, or too incoherent... But if we wage a duck-and-run operation, executed by half measures, our nation and our Constitution lose," writes Jane Harman.

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Center for Law and Security (CLS) at New York University School of Law announced today the launch of the Comparative Intelligence Oversight Project, a joint effort studying the full range of approaches to intelligence oversight in Western democracies.

"Too often, the preference is to tap terrorists’ phones and send spy satellites in search of hidden training camps, not to read the tweets of a 19-year-old jihadist. But in an era of online radicalization, indoctrination often happens in plain sight.," writes Jane Harman.

"Guantanamo cannot and should not be closed until there is a concrete plan to prosecute these men, or, if necessary, detain them in a lawful way that ensures they can never inflict grievous harm again," writes Jane Harman and Jack Goldsmith.

Please join us on June 10 to celebrate the launch of the new Hyundai Motor–Korea Foundation Center for Korean History and Public Policy. Made possible with the generous support of the Hyundai Motor Company and the Korea Foundation, the program will expand the Wilson Center's unique strengths and rich legacy of substantive and diverse programming on Korea.

The formation of the new Netanyahu Government raises a great many questions about its policies and prospects. In this podcast conversation, two veteran analysts and scholars of Israeli politics and diplomacy assess and discuss.

Three distinguished authors and specialists on Iran discuss the achievements of the renowned artist, Shirin Neshat, whose work articulates, in original, imaginative art, the cultural and political dilemmas facing women in a society seeking to navigate the crossroads of Islam and the West. This meeting is the first of two meetings on Shirin Neshat’s artwork.

What are the consequences of the latest round of U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks? Will politics in Washington, Tehran, Jerusalem, and other players in the region make a comprehensive agreement possible? Join us BY PHONE as three prominent foreign policy analysts of Iran, Israel, and U.S. policy discuss the negotiations, the region, and the future of U.S.-Iranian relations.

A panel of experts, including R. Gil Kerlikowske, Director of Drug Control Policy at the White House, discusses reforming current policies combating illegal drugs in the United States and Latin America.